Craig explores the fascinating accounts of her mother's and maternal grandparents' activities during Myanmar's civil war. Her grandfather is a Jewish entrepreneur who becomes intertwined with the Karen people and their conflict with the Burmese government. Her grandmother is a Karen woman who shows remarkable strength in keeping their four children safe throughout the tumultuous transitions from colonialism to independence to war, her husband's imprisonment, and countless other challenges. Craig's portrait of their marriage--one where they had no shared language for the first year--is a fascinating look at infatuation and loneliness.

While I appreciated learning more about Myanmar's culture and the role of outside colonialism and military force in the ongoing conflicts there, the book had some exposition problems. A lot of dialogue between characters sounded more like a history lecture than actual conversation between friends and acquaintances. Similarly, there were challenges with the pacing. In the beginning, multiple chapters would cover harrowing journeys between cities; toward the end, a single paragraph would mark the passage of a decade.

I also felt that Craig's mother, Louisa, the titular Miss Burma--a beauty queen who wound up playing a key role in the Karen nationalist cause, was not as well developed as her parents. So much of the book focused on her childhood and showed Louisa through her parents' eyes, that her autonomy as a character felt somewhat sudden. Much more time is spent on the ideas and expectations that are projected on her, rather than her inner life.

Overall, it's a fascinating story, but I left it wanting more.